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We are in the thick of Christmas season once again. The
trees are up, the lights and stars twinkling in our homes and streets and shops
and Christmas songs playing everywhere you go. There’s that bustle of activity
in the air with shopping, decorating, wrapping gifts, visiting, baking cakes
and cookies, planning get-togethers with family and friends, attending parties
and so on. We say Christmas is for children and pretend that we do whatever we
do for our children. But, admit it, even as adults we love Christmas. We may
complain loudly about the stress of the preparations, but we find ourselves
becoming more and more excited as the day draws near and the decorations begin
to appear. I also tend to tear up easily this time of year as memories of
Christmas past are triggered at every turn.

I am sitting on my wheelchair looking up at a long flight
of stairs which is the only entrance into the office building of the
Directorate of Health and Family Welfare in Nagaland.

So, when was the last time you had to turn back without
getting your work done because you couldn’t get into an office building? Or
decline an invitation to an event or missed out on a celebration because the
venue was inaccessible? Have you ever been unable to go to school, college or
go shopping because there was no ramp or a washroom you could use? These are
just a few scenarios faced by wheelchair users on a daily basis. There are
many, many more – too many to list here.

“Vote as if your life depends on it - because it DOES!” -
this was famously said by Justin Dart, the man often considered the father of
the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is especially true for People with
Disabilities. Every policy decision that impact their lives are influenced by
whom we elect - from employment to transportation, to the funding of health
programmes and social security, accessibility and so on and so forth. Yet,
ironically, majority of People with Disabilities are unable to exercise their
fundamental right to vote.

Grey! When it comes to hair, it’s the dreaded colour,
right? Few of us welcome it and we reach for the dye immediately as soon as the
silver strands start to appear.

I did that too and I don’t even know why. I’ve never been
interested in colouring my hair nor ever had the patience to sit through the
process. But when the greys started to show up thick and fast, I turned to the dye answer without
question. There you go, that’s classic herd behaviour for you! Most people are
doing it so I just went with the flow and did it too.

According to Wikipedia, Kairos (καιρός) is an Ancient Greek word meaning the right,
critical, or opportune moment. The ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos (χρόνος) and kairos. The former refers to
chronological or sequential time, while the latter signifies a proper or
opportune time for action.